> ... after the tank crew fired a shell at the Palestine
> Hotel in Baghdad where many journalists were staying
> to cover the war.
Booking into ground zero of an impending war is, um, risky.
> US officials insist the soldiers believed they were
> being shot at when they opened fire.
Or they might just have been extra insightful, and
recognized that the press is a real enemy.
The enemy was, in fact, firing from the Palestine Hotel.
A clue to our friends in the press. If you are standing next to somebody who is firing at US troops, then you are, at best, acting as a human shield for their operations. Do not be surprised when you receive return fire.